Mid-South abortion providers react to news of Roe v. Wade decision

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The news of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has sent waves through the clinical community in Memphis.

For places like Planned Parenthood, the news was something that was expected but shocking nonetheless.

“I’m heartbroken that our worst fears have become a stark reality,” said Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood for Tennessee and North Mississippi.

Coffield believes this court’s decision, followed by Mid-South state trigger laws, will cause a public health crisis for women seeking an abortion.

The power of regulating abortions now rests with state legislatures, and Coffield alluded to upcoming elections and how Mid-South states can win back, what pro-choice advocates consider, a right to an abortion.

“We will not forget the Tennessee and Mississippi lawmakers who have systematically rolled back our rights and bartered our bodies for votes,” Coffield said.

The latest abortion numbers from the Tennessee Department of Health come from 2019.

In that year, Shelby County performed the most abortions in the state (3,103), which was over double the number of abortions in the #2 Davidson County (1,352).

“The legacy of Roe v. Wade is 65 million unborn babies killed,” said Kent Pruett.

Pruett is a pro-life activist with the group Women’s Care Network, who post outside Planned Parenthood’s Poplar Ave. location in Memphis during its business hours.

He was outside on Friday morning when the news broke of the Supreme Court ruling.

Even after Tennessee’s trigger law goes into effect, Pruett said he and others will continue to post outside Planned Parenthood.

“They’ll be referring people to abortions. I imagine they’ll be transporting and getting pregnant women to Illinois. It’ll go on,” he said. “Sadly, it’s legal. It’s still going to be legal in some states, so we’ll still need to be here.”

Pruett is not far off from what Planned Parenthood is looking into.

Coffield told us Planned Parenthood is working on a patient navigation and assistance program to find the closest location a patient can receive an abortion and the most efficient way to get there.

“We are going to do everything we can to make sure that finances and logistics do not stand in the way of any person getting the abortion care they need,” Coffield said.

Just down Poplar Avenue, another abortion clinic reacted to the news.

CHOICES released the following statement:

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s
Health Organization is one that fails people, families, and communities in Memphis, Tennessee,
and across the country. Each person deserves access to abortions because everyone deserves
to make decisions about their own bodies, their health, and their future. According to
Guttmacher, 26 states are expected to ban abortion when Roe falls and the distance the
average person needs to travel to reach an abortion provider will increase more than ten times
(from 26 miles currently to 275 miles).The impact of losing abortion rights will be devastating for
communities across states like Tennessee.
Nationwide data has repeatedly told the same story: Abortion bans are linked to bad health
outcomes across the board, and especially when it comes to infant and maternal health.
CHOICES is committed to providing high-quality reproductive health care, and no SCOTUS
decision or anti-choice law will change that.
At CHOICES, birthing families are 5 times less likely to have a C-section and 3 times less likely
to have a premature birth than anywhere else in TN. These outcomes reflect the special kind of
care we provide at CHOICES, and speak to a future we know is possible– a future where sexual
and reproductive healthcare is recognized as an essential human right.
That’s why we’re working hard to make sure that the new CHOICES clinic in Carbondale will be
open in August of this year, and why we’re more committed than ever to the work we do in our
Memphis clinic. The road ahead is long, but this fight is too important to give up now.
In the wake of this upsetting news from SCOTUS, we are here to ask you to join in the fight.
Donate to CHOICES to support the expansion to Illinois and the increasingly urgent work at the
clinic in Tennessee; donate to abortion funds to make sure that everyone who needs to travel
across state lines for an abortion can do so, regardless of whether or not they can afford the trip;
volunteer with organizations already providing practical support; donate to reproductive justice
organizations like our friends at SisterReach who are tirelessly advocating for us all. There are
so many ways to take a stand for all of our rights, and we need all of us standing together so we
can all make it through to a time when human rights are realized for the people of our country.
CHOICES Memphis

Choices recently announced an expansion to Carbondale, Illinois, where they will continue to provide abortions.

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